Your Digital Guide to Travel, Entertainment and Events

Menu

The second half of season 7 for the USA Network’s legal drama “Suits” will not actually resume until next month, in the now-common network practice of cutting season runs and alternating programming as a result. Still, while the season finale’s not until April, the production is already at work developing the overall arc plot for season 8, set to start in late 2018. For one thing, not only have they already conceptualized a brand new character to appear in the series, they have also cast the actress who will play that character. Even better, she’s an honest-to-goodness Golden Globe winner.

USA Network announced in their official website that “Grey’s Anatomy” star Katherine Heigl is taking up a role as a brand-new regular cast member when “Suits” starts its eighth season. Her presence seeks to really shake things up regarding the status quo of the Pearson Specter Litt legal firm, currently still in flux during the season 7 break. Heigl will portray a new addition to the firm, incoming law partner Samantha Wheeler who becomes a new counterpart of sorts to series lead Gabriel Macht as Mark Specter. Her different way of doing things makes her a wild card that might make things better for Specter and his accomplice Mike Ross (Patrick J. Adams), or destroy what they’ve accomplished.

In an interview, Heigl revealed that she herself has been a fan of “Suits” from season 1 and is very excited to soon become part of the cast now that the show has proven to be a long-runner. “Joining Suits was the perfect organic way to not only collaborate with an EP I admire deeply, but to also become part of a show and cast that I am an immense fan of,” she said.

“Suits” creator and executive producer Aaron Kosh is just as excited to have Heigl on board for the series on its upcoming season. I have always been a big fan of her work and was delighted to discover she was an avid Suits fan herself,” notes Kosh. “I cannot wait to have her come play with our entire cast and crew.” It’s quite the character intro indeed, to have Heigl’s Samantha Wheeler come in as a peer of Macht’s Specter and co-stars Sarah Rafferty (Donna Paulsen) and Rick Hoffman (Louis Litt). Her entrance comes as a result of cast regular Meghan Markle (as Rachel Zane) leaving the production at the end of the current season in light of her engagement to Prince Harry.

Alex Williams also joins the cast as Dule Hill.

Season 7 of “suits” resumes on March 28 and will air Wednesdays at 9/8c on the USA Network. Season 8 of will kick off its production in Toronto this coming April, the same month that the S7 finale.